Father says that Pakistan shouldn’t attack its neighbors. Maryam Nawaz

Maryam Nawaz, the chief minister of Punjab province in Pakistan, praised her native Punjab on Thursday, welcomed a group of Sikh pilgrims, the most of whom were from India, and reminded the assembly at the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara that her father, Nawaz Sharif, had once said that the nation should not wage war on its neighbors.

About 2,400 Sikhs who are now traveling to Pakistan to participate in the Baisakhi celebrations were greeted by Maryam as part of the first formal state-level celebrations of Baisakhi, the harvest festival of Punjab.

The Samadhi of Sri Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru, is located in Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, and Sikh pilgrims go from all around to conduct ceremonies there.

Maryam cited her father, Nawaz Sharif, the three-time prime minister, when she spoke to the assembly at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, 130 km northeast of Lahore. She said, “We should not fight with our neighbors.” We must show them our souls.”

Maryam, fifty, is seen as Nawaz Sharif’s political successor. In February, she was chosen as Pakistan’s first female chief minister.

“I received greetings from my Punjabi brothers living across the border as well when I was appointed chief minister.” She said, “I am a Pakistani, but I am also a hard-core Punjabi.

“We want to speak Punjabi here, just like the Punjabis in India.” Mian Sharif, my grandpa, hails from Jati Umra in Amritsar. I laid dirt from Jati Umra that an Indian Punjabi brought to his (her grandfather’s) tomb,” she said.

Ramesh Singh Arora became the first Sikh minister in Maryam’s cabinet, she said.

“In 2013, my father set the groundwork for the Kartarpur Corridor. “He also appointed a Sikh to the Punjab Assembly,” she said.

She claimed to have given the go-ahead for the road’s development in Kartarpur at the request of the Sikhs.

Imran Khan, who was prime minister at the time, officially inaugurated the corridor in November 2019. In an attempt to claim credit for the corridor, Maryam claimed that her father made the effort to get a local Sikh congressman to take the lead and that he was eager to open it for Indian Sikhs.

Additionally, Maryam said that this is the first time the Baisakhi celebration is being observed on a government level in Pakistan. “This is my Punjab, and we are celebrating all festivals of minority communities such as Holi, Easter, and Baisakhi together,” she said.

She spent some time in the sanctuary of the gurdwara with the followers before sharing langar with them. Afterwards, she made small talk and gave an embrace to an elderly Indian lady from Amritsar. The woman gave her a blessing.